The trade associations are interested in a high vaccination rate and see the state as having an obligation.
(Photo: obs)
Berlin Before the Bundestag debate on a general Covid 19 vaccination requirement, the economy is also divided on this issue. “There is a similarly differentiated and committed discussion on the subject of compulsory vaccination as in society as a whole,” said Peter Adrian, President of the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK), the Handelsblatt.
Various chambers of industry and commerce had obtained opinions in the past few weeks. It turned out that the broad approval for a general vaccination obligation has recently decreased somewhat. However, Adrian continues to promote high vaccination rates with effective vaccines, which have given many companies an economic perspective again.
The President of the Association of Family Entrepreneurs, Reinhold von Eben-Worlée, also hopes that as many people as possible will be vaccinated voluntarily. “If a way were found to make non-vaccinated people at least share in the costs they cause for our healthcare system, general vaccination would not be necessary,” he told the Handelsblatt.
But if there should be a vaccination requirement, then politics and administration would have to monitor and enforce compliance themselves. “The state must not burden companies with this task.”
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The head of the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB), Reiner Hoffmann, believes that a high vaccination rate is the only realistic way out of the pandemic. “Otherwise, I personally continue to advocate compulsory vaccination.” However, it must be ensured that it is designed in accordance with the constitution and is based on a broad social consensus. Beatrix
Trade unionists represent different positions
However, the opinion is not uniform within the DGB either. Verdi boss Frank Werneke had warned of stigmatization of the unvaccinated in the fall of last year when it came to compulsory vaccination in care, in the health sector and in daycare centers.
The Confederation of German Employers’ Associations (BDA) and the Federation of German Industries want to publish a joint declaration on compulsory vaccination on Wednesday.
The trade association HDE, on the other hand, has positioned itself more clearly. “To ensure that we have really done everything we can to contain the pandemic, we should take the mandatory step of vaccination,” said HDE boss Stefan Genth to the Handelsblatt. It should no longer be accepted that a minority of the population is taking the majority and the economy hostage with their attitude of denial.
Ministers of Education are calling for compulsory vaccination to be introduced quickly
School ministers and teachers’ representatives are unanimous in calling for compulsory vaccinations to be implemented quickly. The President of the Conference of Ministers of Education, Karin Prien (CDU), calls for more speed with the vaccination requirement – so that she still has a chance: “The longer a legal regulation for this is a long time coming, the higher the legal hurdles will be,” she said the Handelsblatt. Therefore, it is now “absolutely crucial that the efforts to increase the vaccination rate and boosters are consistently pursued”.
The President of the Teachers’ Association, Heinz-Peter Meidinger, at least personally voted for mandatory vaccination “so that at least from next autumn there is no risk of a new wave and another lockdown”. There is no position of the association. A special obligation for teachers, similar to that for caring professions, is pointless, since the quota here is already 95 percent.
The job-related vaccination requirement in hospitals and care facilities that will apply from March 15th is causing resistance. Federal states had demanded that the introduction be postponed, which the Federal Ministry of Health, however, rejected. According to the Ministry of Health, the omicron wave is far too dynamic to allow this to happen.
The background, especially in East Germany, is the concern that unvaccinated staff will then quit. In Saxony, statements by the Bautzen Deputy District Administrator Udo Witschas (CDU) caused a stir. He had announced that he did not want to implement compulsory vaccination.
Deputy Prime Minister Martin Dulig (SPD) said in Dresden on Tuesday that the behavior of the local politician was unacceptable. One should not allow calls to break the law – the coalition of CDU, SPD and Greens agreed on that.
More: Employment lawyer Lipinski on compulsory vaccination: “In case of doubt, unvaccinated persons face termination”